Catuai Vermelho

Small awarded farm led by new generation

I am Augusto Borges Ferreira, a fourth-generation farmer of the Borges and Ferreira families, Business Administration graduate and a member of the APAS Coffee cooperative. My farm, Fortaleza, is located in the Mantiqueira de Minas mountains in the South of Minas Gerais, with altitudes between 1090 m and 1280 m and average rainfall between 1250 mm and 1400 mm/year. The property is surrounded by riparian woodlands and has two water springs. It is divided into 10 plots: Capadócia, Arrozá, Pedreira, Jacaré, Guatambu, Engenho, Abacateiro, Mangueira Bira and Pereira. I have been investing in quality for more than 10 years as part of APAS, where I also learned about the principles of sustainability in coffee production. I have also rented another plot with two friends, called Project AAA (which stands for Augusto, Ademilson and Alessandro). Sítio Quilombo is located in the town of Campanha and has high altitudes that best produce specialty grades. Quality is not the only reason why my coffee is special. The people I work with at the farm are also really important for the entire process. We pay our collaborators well so that they want to get better at what they do. Take Gustavo, for example. He started moving coffee on the patio and I pushed him to learn more. Today he knows how to roast in the IKAWA, he can create blends and cup. Danilo “Costelinha” is another young lad that operates the mechanical harvester. He earns 3 times more than the local average for the same job and is a top-notch worker! My team is like my family. And my actual family is also very supportive of what I do. My father wasn’t keen on me becoming a coffee farmer in the beginning because it didn’t pay well, but when I started improving the quality and winning competitions he realized there is a future in coffee. I changed the name of our business from Fazenda Fortaleza (I mean, how many farms called Fortaleza are there in Brazil? Hundreds!) to Capadócia. It’s Portuguese for Cappadocia, the region in Turkey where they fly air balloons. I never flew in a balloon but I find it beautiful! From a balloon, you can kinda see miles ahead. It’s like coffee, you know?